(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest: July Begins [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-30 Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw. OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes09OP0az coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments. Pictures of the week come from The Guardian, namely news coverage and wildlife photos. First we will get to environmental news, beginning with this from The Guardian: ‘It burns wild and free up there’: Canada fires force US crews to shift strategy Different strategies in fighting wildfires have prompted new questions about best practices in the face of a global challenge Gabrielle Canon in San Francisco and Leyland Cecco in Toronto by D ustan Mueller had come to expect the unexpected. The US Forest Service deputy fire chief had been deployed thousands of miles from home to battle an out-of-control blaze in the wooded bogs and swampland of Alberta, Canada. In the dry moisture-hungry forests of northern California he was used to, a favorably-timed rainstorm would likely mean an end to the fire. But in this marshy terrain, even a late-spring storm could do little to slow the flames: two days after being doused, the conflagration roared back to life, churning through thick bands of desiccated moss and the stands of black spruce and aspen. From Democracy Now: Death Toll from Heat Wave Hits 112 in Mexico, 14 in Southern U.S. Mexico’s Health Ministry says at least 112 people have died in the past two weeks as an unprecedented heat wave drove temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius, or more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Residents of Monterrey say they’ve been forced to limit their time outdoors. From the Associated Press: This year’s Hajj was held in sweltering heat, and for those serving pilgrims there was little relief BY LUJAIN JO MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — As hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims walked in the footsteps of the prophets beneath a sweltering sun, contracted cleaners in lime-green jumpsuits held out matching plastic bags to collect their empty water bottles. It takes tens of thousands of cleaners, security personnel, medics and others to make the annual Hajj pilgrimage possible for 1.8 million faithful from around the world. As the Hajj concludes on Friday, the workers will begin a massive, weeklong cleanup effort. From the BBC: Sex life of rare 'leopard-print' frog revealed By Helen Briggs An all-female team has braved 50C heat and poisonous snakes to track down a "leopard-print" frog virtually unknown to science and learn how it reproduces. The Argentinian conservation scientists are fighting to protect the tiny Santa Fe frog, which is under threat as its habitat in one of the world's driest forests, the Dry Chaco, is cut down. Another from The Guardian: ‘Tokyo would lose its soul’: anger over plans to redevelop historic city park Campaigners say turning Meiji Jingu Gaien into a commercial hub will destroy 1,000 trees and area’s architectural heritage Justin McCurry It is a leafy oasis in a city smothered in paved streets and concrete high-rises; a mecca for sports fans who flock to baseball and rugby matches at its two historic stadiums; and a place of tranquility where, while attending a ballgame in 1978, Haruki Murakami decided to become a novelist. But if developers and the Tokyo metropolitan government get their way, Meiji Jingu Gaien, a popular park in the centre of Tokyo, will be bulldozed and turned into a commercial hub dominated by two skyscrapers, a hotel and new sports venues. From The Guardian: New Zealand falls out of love with sheep farming as lucrative pine forests spread Sheep numbers in sharp decline as farmers increasingly shift to forestry, fuelled by demand to earn carbon credits Tess McClure by A cross one of the ridgelines of High Peak station, a line of sheep is on the move: gradual at first, and then in a heaving rush, an avalanche of dirty white wool heading into the valley. They flow around Hamish Guild like an eddy. He looks across the valley, to where a slope of grassland splits in half, a velvety black expanse of pine forest sweeping over the hill. From the Miami Herald: Watch ‘friendly’ creature visit boaters in Australia. ‘Right place at the right time’ BY MOIRA RITTER The creature spent about 20 minutes swimming around the boat in King George Sound, Colleen Smetham said. Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash Colleen Smetham and her husband, Paul, were enjoying lunch on their boat in King George SoundAustralia, when they encountered a special visitor: a southern right whale that came to say hello. “It seemed to be heading our way,” Smetham told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in a June 29 interview. “So we pulled the anchor up just thinking in case it gets caught up in the rope, or we need to disappear quickly.” And from the Guardian: From the Diplomat: New Zealand’s Deft Realpolitik on Display Newly strengthened military ties with Fiji and Japan contrast with the amicable meeting between Prime Minister Hipkins and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. By Dechlan Brennan New Zealand displayed all the successful components of realpolitik in June, as the nation strengthened it military ties with Fiji and Japan, whilst also managing to have a meeting of “great significance” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The former, which involved an agreement between New Zealand Defense Minister Andrew Little, and Fijian Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua, is significant for the Pacific region. The latter, which saw New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins hosted by the Chinese leader in Beijing, made Hipkins the first leader from one of the “Five Eyes” nations to visit the Chinese capital in an official capacity since the beginning of the pandemic. From the BBC: Australia legalises psychedelics for mental health By Tiffany Wertheimer Australia has become the first country in the world to legalise the use of psychedelics to treat some mental health conditions. Approved psychiatrists can now prescribe MDMA to those suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and magic mushrooms for some types of depression. The controversial move has been hailed as a game-changer by many scientists and mental health experts. From The Guardian: Fifa blocks rainbow armband and unveils Women’s World Cup alternatives Teams will have choice of eight Fifa-sanctioned armbands England yet to decide which armband they will wear Suzanne Wrack Fifa has confirmed that players at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will not be able to wear the rainbow armband in support of LGBTQ+ rights or OneLove armband, but will instead be able to choose from eight alternative options. There will be no change to the regulations that stopped teams from wearing the OneLove armband at last year’s men’s World Cup in Qatar, with sanctions possible should a team choose to breach the rules. However, teams will be invited to choose from eight Fifa-sanctioned armbands highlighting a variety of social causes. From USA Today: From Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (photo essay): Impoverished Turkmenistan Opens Arkadag, A Multibillion-Dollar City Named After Its Former President Turkmenistan officially opened a multibillion-dollar city built from scratch on June 29. Arkadag is named in honor of the current president’s authoritarian father, who led the nation with an iron fist for 15 years. Despite the expense of the vast building project, the majority of Turkmen citizens live in poverty. From the BBC: Poland charges Russian ice hockey player with spying By Jaroslav Lukiv An ice hockey player from Poland's major league has been charged with spying for Russia, Warsaw says. The man, a Russian citizen, was arrested on 11 June in Silesia, southern Poland, and is believed to be part of a Russian spy ring. Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) has so far detained 14 people suspected of being part of the group. From Deutsche Welle: EU leaders agree to cut reliance on China last updated 13 hours ago EU leaders at the Brussels summit also called on China to press Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine. But they failed to agree on a plan to distribute migrants in the bloc, after it was blocked by Poland and Hungary. European Union leaders pledged to reduce their economic dependence on China, as they concluded a two-day summit in Brussels on Friday. The bloc's leaders vowed to pursue a mutually beneficial economic relationship with Beijing that would "continue to reduce critical dependencies and vulnerabilities," they said in a joint statement. "We must prevent strategic dependencies. It will take a few years for companies to diversify, but it will remain an economic cooperation which is also necessary in terms of climate policies and food security," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. From Euractiv: Greece migrant tragedy: Survivor accounts say coastguard rope toppled boat Survivors of a boat disaster that likely killed hundreds of migrants near Greece have given accounts of traffickers in North Africa cramming them into a clapped-out fishing trawler. They recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water. Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the actions of the Greek coastguard. They have told judicial authorities of a doomed attempt to tow the overloaded trawler that caused the vessel to capsize in the early hours of 14 June. From the Washington Post (AP): A Tajik man fatally shot two officers at Moldova's airport after he was denied entry, officials say CHISINAU, Moldova — A Tajikistan national who was denied entry into Moldova at its main international airport grabbed a guard’s weapon and fatally shot two security officers Friday, officials said. One traveler also was wounded. The suspect was being escorted by officials at Chisinau International Airport when he “took the gun of a border guard” and opened fire, authorities said. Special forces then intervened, subdued the suspect and handcuffed him, leaving him seriously injured. All passengers were evacuated from the airport. From Al-Monitor: As protests continue against Sweden, OIC to meet in Saudi on Quran burning Member states are set to discuss measures to be taken against attacks on the Muslim holy book. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an extraordinary meeting in Saudi city of Jeddah on Sunday over a Quran-burning demonstration in Sweden, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency reported on Friday. The executive committee of the 57-member organization of Muslim countries will discuss what measures can be taken over the attack on the holy scripture, Anadolu reported, citing diplomatic sources. The meeting was called by Saudi Arabia, which currently holds the rotating OIC presidency, the report said. From France24: UN Security Council votes to end peacekeeping mission in Mali The United Nations has voted to end its decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali... The UN Security Council's decision comes two weeks after Mali's military leadership accused the 13-thousand strong Minusma force of failing to tackle a jihadist insurgency. In August last year, France withdrew its tro ops from Mali... that reopened a security vaccum which allowed Russia's mercenary group Wagner to step in. x YouTube Video From CNN (Reuters): Sierra Leone election observers flag ‘statistical inconsistencies’ of Saturday’s vote. European election observers in Sierra Leone said there were “statistical inconsistencies” in the presidential results published by the electoral commission, which declared President Julius Maada Bio the winner of Saturday’s vote. The European Union Election Observation Mission called on the commission on Wednesday to promptly publish disaggregated results data per polling station to allow for public scrutiny of the results, without which it said transparency was compromised. From the BBC: France riots: Why are police using guns during traffic stops? By Laura Gozzi The fatal shooting by police of a 17-year-old boy driving a car in a Paris suburb is the latest in a spate of such deadly incidents in France. It was the third killing this year during a police traffic stop and followed a record 13 deaths last year. Most of the victims have been of black or Arab origin, Reuters news agency reports. From the Washington Post: How the killing of a teen fits into France’s history of police brutality By Ruby Mellen Protests have spread across France this week after a police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old boy of Arab descent in a Paris suburb. The case is the latest example of violence by French police, which have stoked anger and calls for accountability, as well as a tightening of restrictions on when officers can use their weapons. From The Guardian: Tour de France bolsters security amid fears of protests and civil unrest Race director says of concerns: ‘We will adapt if needed’ Disruption expected after three nights of rioting across France Jeremy Whittle The Tour de France has ramped up security as race organisers brace themselves for a double dose of disruption, both from climate change activists and the threat of civil unrest in France. The race director, Christian Prudhomme, said the promoters, ASO, are in “constant liaison” with the French government, following three nights of rioting across the country. From Reuters: UK court rules against deporting migrants to Rwanda The British government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda suffered another setback after an appeals court ruled against it. It's a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has made a promise to 'stop the boats' bringing migrants. x YouTube Video From The Guardian: Home Office admits placing lone nine-year-old in asylum seeker hotel Disclosure made as council tries to stop government resuming placements in hotel from which children disappeared Diane Taylor The Home Office has admitted that an unaccompanied nine-year-old child was placed in an asylum seeker hotel because of shortages of local authority care placements. The disclosure came during an urgent injunction application in the high court from Brighton and Hove city council, which is trying to prevent the Home Office from resuming placements in a hotel from which a large number of children previously disappeared. Some of them are suspected to have ended up with traffickers or people who are exploiting them. And one final one from The Guardian: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/30/2178673/-Overnight-News-Digest-July-Begins Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/